Out of the woods and home before the dark
by IceK04
Summary: What if Jack didn't take the Baker's Wife's scarf out of dead hands? What if there would be an Happy End? A Story in which the Baker's Wife lives.
1. The Remebmer me-scarf

**Chapter ONE**

 **The „Remember me"-Scarf**

Jack ran so very fast that he almost missed the woman´s skirt that peeked out from under a shrub.

It was familiar to him but he first didn´t recognize whose skirt it was.

He reached out to pull the skirt close but it was heavy –too heavy for his thin arms.

And when he looked why it was that heavy, he jerked.

"The Baker´s wife.", he whispered.

The way the woman laid on the grass, the body unusually twisted, he just knew that she was dead.

As dead as a rat in a rattrap.

There was blood in her beautiful brown-blondish hair and wounds were all over her arms.

Jack really wanted to leave her dead body in peace, but then he saw the Baker´s wife´s scarf and he had to think of the baker and how much he would probably love to have a souvenir of his wife.

So he took it from the dead woman´s neck and ran.

Jack had lost much of time at the Baker´s wife´s body. Time that was so very valuable for someone that ran away from a witch.

And when he heard the fast steps behind him, he knew that he had lost far too much time.

"Stay still!", shouted the screechy voice of the witch, "Stay still, you stupid boy! You´re the reason for all the trouble in our beautiful kingdom! Stay still or I´m gonna hex you into stone!"

But Jack wouldn´t listen.

He just ran and ran and didn´t see the large oak tree right in front of him.

There was a loud crash and everything went black.

"Humans are just blind.", someone mumbled and laughed.

* * *

Everything hurt.

Her head, her arms, her legs...just her whole body.

She couldn´t open her eyes that much hurt was in her bones –broken bones, probably.

"Shouldn´t it be over?!", she tried to say, "Shouldn´t I be dead after such a fall?!"

But she clearly wasn´t.

So there was pain. Pain as bad as she´d felt when she´d given birth to her little son.

Georgie...he must be okay. Because if he wasn´t, then she would probably die no matter how healthy she´d feel.

"John...", she whispered, "John where´re you? Where´re you?...Whe-"

She couldn´t finish the sentence before her eyes closed. She just was so tired.

The black welcomed her as if she was an old friend but behind that calming dark there were awful dreams. Dreams about how she fell down from that cliff, dreams about how her lovely son and her adorable husband would fall down from the same cliff, dreams about the Little Red Ridinghood and Jack falling from the cliff...dreams about giants and lady-giants and witches and all together.

They were nightmares.

But she wouldn´t wake up.

Well, actually she would, but she wouldn´t wake up without a heart-disturbing scream of fear and sadness.

She knew it; They all thought she was dead and when she thought of how she´d almost betrayed her husband with that sycophantic prince she really wanted to be dead.

She wanted to blame the prince for being a seducer, she wanted to blame the witch for being such an...awful witch.

 _But._ She thought. _If they all think that I am dead, then they won´t search for me. So how am I supposed to get home to my dearly house with that lovely bakery room and the warm oven?!_

It was cold out here in the woods. Too cold for a crashed woman that had just given birth to a child a few weeks ago.

"I wonna get home.", she whispered, "I wonna get to my child and my husband."

And that was it; The wakeup call for her mind.

She could suddenly open her eyes and although she felt that much pain, she managed to stand up.

Then she began to go, searching for every tree and shrub to protect herself from falling to the ground.

" _Just a moment..._

 _One...peculiar, passing moment._

 _Must it all be either this or that_

 _Either good or bad_

 _Is it always "could"_

 _Is it never "good"_

 _I thought that´s what woods are for_

 _For those moments in the woods."_

* * *

"You shouldn´t be like that.", the Little Red Riding Hood said to the Baker.

"Like what?", he answered, a little bit angry, a little bit sad.

"Well...", the girl said, "You seem to be so...sidetracked. so sad."

The Baker swallowed hard, "Can´t I be sad about my wife´s dead?!"

"Of course you can be!", The girl said, "But I don´t think that your wife would want you to be _that_ sad."

The Baker didn´t answer. He just stared down on his little son who slept in his arms. Safe and sound just like his wife should be too.

His thoughts always went back to her. Anne had been such a beautiful woman.

Those perfect blue eyes; large and true. Her warm and gently skin with those reddish cheeks and her wonderful, slightly curled, brown hair...

"See?", Little Red said reproachful, "Don´t be like that! It scares me. And your son too."

The Baker looked down and blinked.

George looked at him with wide opened eyes. He seemed just like he would begin to cry right now.

"I´m sorry.", the Baker said to Little Red and his son, "I just..."

He sniffed, "I just miss my wife that much."

Little Red lowered her eyes, "I´m so sorry for your lost."

Cinderella reached them and walked next to both of them, "I´m too. It´s terrible."

Slowly Jack caught their steps and all of them walked slowly and still everyone lingered at another thought.

The Baker at his wife, Cinderella at her Prince, The Little Red Riding Hood at her mother and her granny and Jack at his mother.

And everyone was a little bit melancholy and very sad.

"You know...maybe we should tell each other something about ourselves.", Cinderella started, "I mean...we´re going to live with each other but I barely know you."

Jack nodded, "Right."

But silence caught the four of them again and no one talked for at least five minutes.

One could only hear the heavy steps of the four people that wandered through the wood.

Those five minutes seemed to be the longest five minutes that had ever been there.

"You know...", Little Red began, "I actually don't come from here, or from your village."

She went a little bit more bowed down, "My mother and I used to live at the village in the valley. It's brighter and more colourful down there than it is in your village. I didn't know that there was such a big wood right in the middle of our kingdom with trees so big that people can live inside of the trunks. I didn't know anything about the life outside of my home. But when my grandfather died an my grandmother would live alone in her small house, she decided to move out and live somewhere else. Somewhere quieter, somewhere...just somewhere else. And first my mother accompanied me on the journey into the woods but then -when I visit you and your wife at the bakery- my mother had to help out on the fields and I had to go alone."

She went still.

No one spoke.

It was just as if they would play a game; One tells a story about his life and all the others fall silent until another one raises his voi-

"You know, my mother never told me about my father. He was there sometimes, like a hushing feeling or a small breeze in my thoughts, but my mother never spoke about him.", Jack mumbled, "Without a man to work, my mother had to do everything on her own. She worked really hard so she never was in a very good mood. You know; We didn't always just had Milkywhite. We first had three cows. But then everything got more expensive and my mother couldn't buy that much hay. So we must sell the two cows so that only Milkywhite was left. I wasn't as sad as I was when I sold Milkywhite but it felt like losing old friends of mine. And...well You know the rest of the story. I don't have to tell you again."

And once again, everyone fell silent.

This time the silence lingered longer than any silence before and the longer they went, the more uncomfortable they felt.

That heavy silence that laid over them like a dark cloth, only disappearing when someone talked.

"So...", The Baker started, "It's a very long story to tell but I think we've got enough time. You know...I met-" -he stopped and started again, eyes filled with tears- "I met my wife early in my life. She always was the little girl that lived next to me..."

 _...He sometimes saw her at school, sitting in the back of the room and watching the teacher._

 _She had those large, blue eyes -blue like nothing he had ever seen before- and beautiful brown hair with a slightly curl._

 _When she thought about the teacher's question she always wrapped one strike around her finger and bit her bottom lip so hard that he thought there would be blood. But there wasn't._

 _She never just was "The Shoemaker's daughter" to him. She was the world._

 _But to her he would never be more than "The Baker's son"._

 _Yes, the two of them went home together, silent and never speaking a word, but they didn't really_ know _each other._

 _And the older they grew, the quieter they became._

 _There were shy looks and small smiles, but never only_ one _word._

 _There was that feeling in his deepest inner, the feeling he felt since he first saw her, but it had grew stronger from year to year._

 _And then...one day:_

 _The door closed with a loud bang._

" _I wanna live my own life! Can't you understand that?!", she shouted._

 _He never knew how her voice sounded and maybe it wasn't the best moment to find out._

 _Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes sparkled with anger._

 _She turned around._

" _Aren't parents so annoying sometimes?!", she said fury and looked at him._

 _His eyes widened, "Well...yeah, I think."_

 _That was all. He fell silent and just looked at her until she made a few steps forward._

" _I'm Anne.", she said, "And you are?"_

 _He was just overwhelmed._

 _They "knew" each other that long but he now heard her voice the first time ever._

 _His mouth opened and closed like a fish's mouth a few times until there were words._

" _Jo_ he _.", he said, "I'm John."_

 _Anne smiled at him, "What about leaving school today and just go out?"_

 _He frowned, "Why should we do that?"_

 _Anne shrugged, "I don't know. But it would be fun, wouldn't it?"_

 _John nodded._

 _He followed Anne over the street, "Maybe."_

 _She smiled at him again, took his hand and began to ran, "Come on. Or do you want to be caught by your parents?!"_

 _..._

"You know...My wife had always been the one to decide the things.", The Baker finished. He whipped his tearful eyes, "And now...Who knows what'll come."

He touched the scarf that was around his neck.

"I don't know what I'm gonna do without her."

Well...no one knew at this time.

But maybe they don't even have to know...


	2. The Journey

**Hiii!**

 **So now that the first chptr is uploaded I'm gonna show myself to you;)**

 **I just recently watched the movie "Into the Woods" and I really loved the Baker-family (and the Bakers Wife). So it's clear that I was very sad about the Baker's Wife's dead and I wondered how the story could've ended when she hadn't died.  
**

 **So…**

 **In my story the Baker and the Baker's Wife are named "John" and "Anne" but the Baker always calls his wife "Annie" for I thought that was a name that fit her character very well.**

 **I'm actually not an English native-speaker (I'm german and only 14 years old) so it would be great if you could tell me if I make any mistakes…**

 **Anyway…I would love to read some comments;)**

 **Until then and I hope you like my story…**

 **IceK**

 **Chapter TWO**

 **The Journey**

She didn´t know how long she had wandered but her body began to struggle against every move she made, against every breathtaking, every step she made.

But she told herself to hold on. She just had to make it through the woods and back home, where she belonged.

 _Anne Addington_ , she said to herself, _get yourself together! Your husband needs you and so does your son!_

But there was dirt in her wounds and her eyes were watering without her feeling anything.

Only thinking of her child and husband and the rough feeling of the bark under her bare hands hold her awake.

The trees were mostly crushed so she couldn´t really make out a way. There were just a few leads like a rock or a tree that had been crushed already before the giant attack.

But it was enough and the longer she walked, the more she recognized.

There was the place where they had danced –John and she, before the giant and all the other bad things Anne didn´t want to think of- and then she suddenly saw another familiar thing.

It was the place where the Witch had bring Milky White back to life.

Anne had never ever in her life felt that relieved.

But she although had never felt that tired.

The sun touched her bruised cheeks, let glow her blunt, fuzzy hair and let shine every drop of blood that was on her pale skin.

Anne could barely stay awake, her lids fluttered.

She heard those voices, familiar and strange in the same way.

She wanted to shout for help, wanted to take their attention, but her legs couldn´t carry her weight anymore.

Everything went black.

* * *

"I never was in this part of the wood.", Cinderella said.

There has been a long lingering silence between the four of them and she was the first to speak for a long time.

"Never?", Little Red said surprised, "I can´t believe that. I almost came here every day to the bakery..."

Jack nodded, "My mother and me too. She always had good talks with your-" –He stopped, knowing that he shouldn´t finish his sentences.

"Her sweets were always better than mine.", the Baker whispered.

"But...you know", he said to Cinderella, "I think from now on you´re the one to make the sweets. I´m just the one for bread."

Little Red suddenly stopped and looked at the ground as if there was something that had caught her interest.

"Mr. Baker!", she shouted, "Mr. Baker, Your wife had a heart-shaped necklace, hadn´t she?"

The Baker frowned and stood as still as the trees around him stood.

"Yeah...", he said a little bit confused.

Little Red bent down and picked up something from the leafy ground, something glowing in the sun.

"Well...", she began, "I wonder why your wife´s necklace has to do on this ground."

The Baker´s eyes widened, "Are you serious?!"

He stumbled forward until he reached Little Red Riding Hood and snatched away the necklace.

His fingertips stroke over the chain pendant carefully, "What...on..."

He started looking around, "Oh my GOD!"

There she laid. On the leafy, dirty ground. Her hair was fuzzy, her skin was as pale as flour and her whole body was covered with bruises and wounds.

"Take the baby!", the Baker shouted and handed his son over to the Little Red.

He fell to the ground next to his wife and buried her head on his lab.

"You told me she was dead!", the Baker shouted at Jack, "When she was dead, how could she be here?! Can you tell me that?!"'

His voice was sharp and shrill.

"I-I", Jack started, "I don´t know!"

He felt Cinderella´s weedy hands on his shoulders.

"I...The way she laid there...I really thought that she was dead!"

But the Baker ignored him.

He looked down at his wife and smiled. Sad and confused, happy and relieved.

Tears fell down from his eyes.

"How is this possible?", he whispered, "How can one person live through that much at one day?!"

He was right; Losing his wife, killing a giant, then suddenly finding his wife at the edge of the woods, alive –barely alive, but alive-.

Someone fell into the grass next to the Baker. Cinderella.

"We have to clean her wounds.", she whispered, "Or she´ll get caught an infection."

But Cinderella too was ignored from the Baker, who just carefully stroke his wife´s hair from her forehead and caressed her bruised cheeks.

Little Red sank to her knees and touched the Baker´s shoulder, "Mr. Baker? Come on, we´ve to get help from the village."

But she knew it was helpless, ´cause the Baker just stared at his wife´s face.

"Little Red?", Cinderella mumbled, "Take Jack and search for help. Leave now, go fast."

Little Red nodded, "We´ll be back as soon as we can."

She stood up and whipped her hands at her skirt, "Jack? Come on."

And they ran away.

The Baker still hasn´t moved.

"Annie?", he whispered, "God, Annie. How could that happen to us? How...We just wanted to go home, didn´t we? But look what it turned out to be."

He looked at her with a sad smile, "But now...now that the journey´s ended...everything is different. We´ve changed...the woods have changed us, just like you said, Annie."

His fingertips carefully stroke over a cut on his wife's cheek and his lips touched her hair.

Cinderella had never seen anything that sweet.

It was a scene that let her heart melt.

And in this peculiar moment she knew that her decision to leave her prince was right. There never would've been such a scene between the two of them.

Of course there would've be-and there certainly _had_ been- moments of passion and love and admiration and care between them, but never that intensive.

Surely, she loved the Prince and she was certain that he loved her just like she loved him but since she knew what he and the Baker's wife had done -or almost done- she knew that there would never be a scene like this between them.

Jack and Little Red Riding Hood ran fast and stopped with a hard swallow next to Cinderella.

"We have to get her to your house by ourselves..", Jack coughed.

"You should see the village.", Little Red said, "It looks as if there'd never been a giant. It's unbelievable!"

Jack nodded, "Some people didn't even _know_ about the attack."

Little Red fell to her knees next to the Baker and Cinderella, "You know…It's like a lovely bubble. Nothing bad had happened there and nothing good. It's a perfect balance."

"Like a dream-world.", Jack said.

"I don't think the people there like me.", Little Red mumbled.

Cinderella looked confused, "Why would you think that?"

Little Red grinned, "Well…I wear a cape made out of a wolf's skin. I carry a knife so no one can harm me…I show them how bad the world really is."

The Baker looked up with a twisted grin, "Then they gonna hate my wife."

Little Red shook her head, "They'd never dare. Everyone _loves_ your wife. _Admires_ her, even."

Cinderella looked up.

"Why?", she asked.

Little Red smiled, "Well…she´s friendly and kind, she always smiles at the customers and…"

She was interrupted by the Baker who suddenly stood up and lifted up his wife.

The others looked at him in confusion.

"We´ve wasted too much time out here.", he said and stumbled forward, "Anne can´t wait for us to get our stuff together!"

All three of them followed him.

They left the woods, went down the small road and saw the bakery at the end of the street.

People hushed over the street on their way to the shoemaker or the laundry, Children plaid in the dirt and on the grass and just in the middle of all of this there were five people who didn´t fit the picture.

"It´s as if nothing had ever happened.", Cinderella mumbled, couldn´t move for a moment and then followed the others to the bakery.

It was the house next to the tailor´s house.

But while the tailor´s house was very big and out of brick, the bakery was much smaller and out of clay and sandstone.

Jack opened the door and let the Baker in.

Cinderella stopped at the doorstep and first looked at the lounge.

It was large and full of things for baking bread and sweets.

The door at the opposite wall still hung on its hinges but no one seemed to care.

The Baker hurriedly crossed the room and opened the second door that led to the stair up to the little apartment the Baker and his wife shared.

Cinderella hesitated with entering the house but when she heard the Baker asking for her in a loud voice, she just entered and closed the door behind her.

Upstairs the Baker carefully laid his wife on their bed.

Her hairdo had completely dissolved and laid now messy on the pillows.

Only now he noticed the blood that had been in her hair, because the white sheets were suddenly covered with red blood.

"Do you think she´s…", Cinderella started but then noticed what she was just about to say, "Well…not ´okay´ but do you think it´s serious?"

The Baker first didn´t answer and just began to open his wife´s apron, "I´m not a doctor. But I don´t think it is _not_ serious."

Little Red looked pitiful at the Baker´s wife, "I could run and fetch a doctor."

Cinderella looked questioning at the Baker but he lowered his eyes and shook his head, "No. No, it´s too expensive."

Little Red´s eyes widened, "But your wife is gravely injured! You need a doctor to check her!"

The Baker nodded sadly, "I know. But we don´t have the money to pay him. It was like that always. When one of us grew ill, the other took care of everything and even when I cut my finger once it was my wife who took care of my hand because we couldn´t pay any doctor."

And suddenly Little Red began to cry.

She fell to her knees and bent over as if she was just about to vomit.

Cinderella knelt down beside her and embraced her. She stroke Little Red´s hair and kissed her slightly on the forehead.

"It´s not fair!", Little Red cried, "None of this is fair!"

She wept and sobbed and there was nothing the Baker or Cinderella could do.

The Baker sank down beside his wife on the bed and buried his face in his hands.

Jack entered the room quietly and sat onto the floor.

He watched the Baker, how he caressed his wife´s cheek and mumbling something to himself, he watched Little Red Riding Hood in Cinderella´s arms, weeping and crying and he watched Cinderella, how she stroke Little Red´s hair, how she cradled the girl in her arms.

"I...", the Baker started, "I have to clean Anne´s wounds. I- well...I don´t know if..."

Cinderella nodded knowingly and took Little Red´s hands, "We´ll leave you alone. Just tell us if you need help."

She reached out to take Jack´s hand but the boy had already stand up and was about to leave the room.

And while the door was shut, the Baker stood up and went to fill a bucket with water and get a towel.

He sat beside his wife for what felt like hours, just carefully cleaning her wounds and whispering her name.

It was a steady rhythm of cleaning wounds and squeezing out the bloody towel and changing the red water.

It went dark outside, it went cold, it went bright when the moon appeared on the sky and it went dark again when the morning mist wandered over the village.

It was midday when the Baker´s wife first moved and coughed and then opened her eyes.

The Baker´d fell asleep minutes ago.


	3. The Aftermath

**Hello, little girl…**

 **What´s your rush?**

 **I know that I annoy you;)**

 **what is this story to you?**

 **Pls review!**

 **C u**

 **IceK**

 **(I hope you recognized the "melody"** **J** **)**

 **Chapter THREE**

 **The Aftermath**

"John.", she whispered.

Her fingers stroke his hair, short and blond and with a slight curl.

"John, wake up."

She felt weak, her voice was rough and low and her husband couldn´t hear her although she needed him so badly.

She didn´t know why, but her hands had begun to tremble and suddenly everything had felt weird and strange...kind of dangerous.

She needed her husband to hold her near, she needed him to whisper her name.

"John.", her voice grew louder and sounded full of panic, "John, please."

She now almost tore at his hair.

John opened his eyes.

"Anne?", he asked, "My my, Annie!"

She felt his hands on her face, felt how he whipped away her tears and how he pulled her close.

"Are you alright?", he mumbled in her hair.

But she could only cry.

She pulled her knees up and buried her face at her husband´s shoulder.

"I...I´m scared.", she whispered, "I don´t even know why but...But..."

John held her even closer.

He made a "Shhhh"- noise and kissed her brow.

"I know.", he said, "I know. But we´ll get through this together, right? Like always."

Anne nodded through her tears. She buried her face at John's shoulder and watered his shirt.

They lay like this for some moments, silence and just the slight sobs of the Baker's wife filling it.

"Do you-", the Baker whispered, "Do you want to tell me what had happened?"

There was no answer.

But his wife's sobs became smaller until...

"Well...", she said, her voice still filled with tears, "I'd just passed something about 150 steps when...well I don't know exactly what happened but-"

She stopped and swallowed hard.

She breathed in and out but her lungs didn't feel as if they were filling with air again.

"The giantess suddenly appeared. And I mean I didn't know that part of the woods so I couldn't know anything about the cliff...I really just wanted to crawl back but then there suddenly was that cliff and..."

Anne took a deep breath, "I thought I had grabbed hard enough but the floor trembled and...I just lost my footing."

There were few moments of silence between the two of them, none of them talked and the Baker just took his wife´s hand.

He carefully ran his fingers through her hair and placed a slight kiss on her lips.

"Is there anything else I could do for you?", he asked.

Anne shook her head, "No, thank you, darling."

She closed her eyes for a second and swallowed her tears, "Where's our son?"

"He's with Cinderella.", John said.

Anne sat up, "Why should you take our son into another woman's arms?"

He laughed. It wasn't as bright or as happy as it was when they'd danced in the woods, but it was a laugh.

"They are all with us.", John explained, "Jack and Little Red are orphans now and Cinderella said 'goodbye' to her prince so they are all here now."

"I want to see our son.", Anne whispered, "Please. I just have to see that he's okay."

She ignored the fact that the woman whose husband had seduced her would live with them now and just concentrated on her son.

The Baker nodded, "I´m gonna fetch Cinderella and be right back."

John nodded, "Alright. I'll be right back."

And he left the room.

The Baker´s wife stared at the opposite wall and was almost about to bit her fingernails.

* * *

The Baker entered the room and looked around.

The tables stood straight again, were full of bread and tarts and someone whistled a small melody.

It was Cinderella, who swept the floor.

"What are you doing here?", the Baker asked full of confusion.

Cinderella looked up and her eyes brightened, "I´m sweeping the floor, obviously? So...I suppose your wife´s waken up?"

John nodded, "She has. Where is my son?"

Cinderella pointed at the cradle in the edge of the room, "I had to lay him down so I could start working."

The Baker –John- frowned, "I didn´t ask you to work, so why did you?"

"It´s just...I thought it would be a variety.", Cinderella said, "So...I just started working and I think I forgot about the time."

John gave her a small smile, "And where´re Little Red and Jack?"

"They wanted to look after Milky White.", Cinderella explained, "So I let them go to Jack's former house."

"Ok.", the Baker started, "So I´m gonna go buy things to open up the bakery tomorrow morning. We went out of fruits and cocoa last week and today is market day. Could you bring my son up to my wife? She just misses him so terribly."

And without waiting for Cinderella to answer the Baker left the bakery.

Cinderella swallowed hard, took the baby out of the cradle and went upstairs.

The door to the Baker´s and his wife´s bedroom was open a crack and Cinderella didn´t wait until anybody –the Baker´s wife- answered the door.

"Your husband told me to...", Cinderella started while entering the room but was interrupted by the Baker´s wife.

"Could you please close the door?", she asked and Cinderella did as she´d been told.

The Baker´s wife reached out for her son and took him carefully out of Cinderella´s arms.

"You know", she said, "about what the prince and I?"

Cinderella went pale, didn´t made even one noise but nodded.

"I thought you would like to know that it has never been my intention to hurt you.", the Baker´s wife said, "I mean...I´m not going to put the blame on your husband, ´cause it was certainly not only his fault but...I told him that I didn´t want to do...any of the things what we did but he wouldn´t listen."

Cinderella sank beside to the Baker´s wife.

"He was the one who kissed _me_."

Cinderella made a waving gesture, "I don´t want to hear any of this. I know what had happened and I don´t blame you. I don´t even blame my husband, or well... _ex-_ husband, I think. There´s no one to blame. I obviously can´t blame the prince for what he is."

The Baker´s wife frowned, "You think so?"

Cinderella nodded, "But I think you have to tell your husband about what´d happened."

The Baker´s wife gave a slight nod, "I suppose I should...But I´m just scared of what he´s going to say."

Cinderella shrugged her shoulders, "You have to go through that now. You have to add that to yourself."

She stood up, "Just call for me if you have anything I could do for you."

And then she was gone, out of the room and downstairs to sweep the floor, while the Baker´s wife buried her nose in the blanket that was wrapped around her son.

"At least you´re okay, aren´t you?", she whispered tears in her eyes.

The little Baby whimpered a little bit and began to suck on his thumb.

Anne gave him a small smile, "I would´ve wanted to die too if you had died. My Georgie."

She looked right in the baby´s blue eyes. Blue like the blue from the sky.

Their son was beautiful.

Anne couldn't yet say who he was more similar to but he certainly had her eyes. John's eyes were darker and didn't have a dark blue ring around the iris as Anne's and George's eyes had.

Anne carefully stroke her son's forehead and whispered some lovely words.

His eyelids began to flatter with every word that reached his ears.

"Sleep well, my darling."

* * *

 _They were nightmares._

 _Awful, scary nightmares with no chance to let go of them._

 _There was the prince with his seducing smile, the witch with her long, ugly nails and blue, messy hair and the giantess with her big hands._

 _She was in the woods again, the branches touched her cheeks and left red marks, the darkness seemed to suck her in._

 _She heard her little son's sobs, she heard Little Red Riding Hood's screams and suddenly there was the prince kissing her lips and the witch who watched them with a sickening grin._

" _How can a woman like you let herself being seduced by a dumb, long-fingered prince like this one?", she said with a creepy giggle, "You'll have to face the consequences."_

 _And then there was her husband who looked at her with an angry look, "I can't believe it! I thought you were smart."_

 _There were tears in his eyes, "But I certainly was wrong. What will our son think about his mother-"_

 _Anne wanted to back away from the prince but he grabbed her wrist even harder and his lips crushed on hers._

 _She saw how her husband turned away from her and went out of her sight._

 _She wanted to cry after him, but she was interrupted by a crush._

 _She fell from the cliff again-_

She screamed.

She heard her son crying and felt the calming strokes of her husband over her hair.

John lighted the candle on her bedside and cupped her cheeks with both his hands, "Darling? Darling, wake up."

Anne buried her face at her husband´s shoulder and let him kiss her forehead.

"Are you okay?", he asked but she just cried even harder.

"I made a terrible mistake, John.", she sobbed, "I really did."

John frowned, "What do you mean?"

Now it was Anne´s turn to frown, "What do you mean "What do I mean"? Didn´t Cinderella...but I thought her birds..."

John stood up, "What? What are you telling me? W-what..."

Anne buried her face in her hands, "Well...The Prince-"

"Cinderella´s prince?", John asked.

Anne nodded sadly, "I suppose he was. But he isn´t anymore. Or he at least shouldn´t be."

She swallowed hard and looked at her husband, sad and terrified.

"The prince...", she started, "He tried to seduce me...and I let him seduce me."

John´s eyes widened, "Are you serious?! You...you betrayed me?!"

And again Anne began to cry, "I know, I know it´s terrible! But...but he just...he seduced me."

Her husband shook his head in disbelief, "How could you? I thought we would stick together ´til death will tear us apart...and now."

Anne sobbed even harder.

"But we didn´t do more than just kissing.", she whispered.

John stopped, " _Just_ kissing? Are you kidding me?! I...No one should ever kiss that lips! None other than me!"

Anne didn´t answer for a while.

Both of them just stared at each other but never meeting the other´s gaze.

The silence made both feel so very uncomfortable.

"John...", Anne began, "I-I only love you and I will never love someone as much as I love you. Believe me?"

He nodded, "I may. But there´s one thing you have to tell me."

She looked at him, questioning.

"Why?"

He spoke quiet and full of disappointment.

Anne looked away, "I don´t know. I think he just...well you see, he made an irrefutable offer...and somehow he dared me to."

John nodded, "I...I have to go. I don´t think I want to see you for the moment."

Anne had never heard her husband´s voice sounding that much cold and unapproachable.

She threw back the covers and swung her legs over the edge of the bed.

"Please don´t do this, John!", she said, cried even.

She stumbled after him, her bones still struggling against every move.

"John, _please_!", Anne couldn´t suppress the sob, "John, I´m sorry!"

But her husband wouldn´t hear.

Anne suddenly felt as if her body was too heavy for her legs.

She fell.

And she screamed as if she´d fall from that cliff again.

Nothing could stop the pictures that were floating her head.

 _She fell for what felt like hours._

 _Branches slapped her face, tearing her flesh._

 _She reached out to grab a branch so she wouldn´t fall but it only tore her palms._

 _Everything went black but she still felt every crush and every crack of her bones._

 _Nothing stopped her fall, nothing would ever stop her fall._

 _Well, nothing but the ground._

 _She hit it hard._

" _I won´t ever see my son again.", was the last thing she thought._


	4. Children

**Chapter FOUR**

 **Children**

Adults often think that children don't understand the adults' world but they're wrong.

Children are perfectly capable to understand every rumour, every story and every matter that is going on in the adult's world.

So it was no surprise that Little Red and Jack knew what was going on when the Baker suddenly raised his voice in the middle of the night.

The Baker had offered them the large chamber behind the bakery room. The one with the big hay bed but they had gratefully refused the offer and had left the room to Cinderella.

Instead they had moved to the narrow room next to the bedroom from the Baker and his wife.

Two in one bed.

 **-a few hours ago-**

"Do you want to sleep on the door-side or on the wall-side?", Jack asked and put his suitcase on the floor.

Little Red Riding Hood shrugged her shoulders, "I don't care."

"Why did you actually refused to move into the chamber?", Jack said, "Now _we_ have to sleep together in this tiny bed!"

Little Red gave Jack an annoyed look.

"Are you serious?!", she said and sat onto the edge of the bed, "You're seriously a taker, aren't you? You never look at other people's feelings."

Jack frowned, "What do you mean?"

Little Red twisted her eyes, "Didn't you think of Cinderella? She never slept anywhere than under the stairs or in front of the fireplace in the middle of the aches. I just thought that it would be fair to her."

Jack exhaled noisily, "Yes but-"

"There's no 'yes but'.", Little Red said, "It's just like that."

She looked at the room, "And this is just as fine as the chamber would've been."

Jack sighed, "If you say so. Well then...good night."

And he crawled under the blanket first.

Little Red followed him.

"You have to blow the candle.", Jack mumbled, "Or do you want to set the bakery on fire?!"

Little Red snorted, "I'd never."

She blew out the candlelight and laid down again.

"'Night.", she said and they turned back-to-back.

 **-back to now-**

" _Just kissing?!"_ , the Baker's voice sounded from his and his wife's bedroom, " _Are you kidding me?! No one should ever kiss that lips! None other than me!"_

Little Red opened her eyes.

"What's going on here?", she asked Jack who stood at the door but he holds up a finger to shush her.

" _Please don't do this, John!",_ the Baker's wife's voice echoed through the house.

" _John, please!",_ her voice came closer and now they heard her voice fully. They heard her sobs.

"John, I'm sorry!"

The Baker didn´t answer and then suddenly-

The Baker's wife screamed and Jack opened the door.

Little Red slipped through the door first, Jack followed her.

The Baker's wife laid on the floor as if she was a puppet which's threads had been cut.

The Baker turned on his heels and hurried upstairs again.

"Anne!", he shouted but his wife just cupped her ears with her palms, "Annie!"

"What's going on up there?", Cinderella asked.

She made a few steps upstairs, then stood still.

The Baker lifted his wife up and shook her carefully.

"Anne?", he asked, "Annie?"

And his wife opened her eyes.

They were full of panic.

She hugged John and hold him as close as she could.

Her nails pressed against his shoulder so hard that they left marks. Red, crescent-shaped marks on his flesh.

Her hair was over his face and her whole body pressed against his.

"Oh my god.", Anne whispered, "Why..."

Cinderella gave John a questioning look but he only shook his head.

"Go back to bed, children.", she told Little Red and Jack.

She turned around and went downstairs again.

Jack and Little Red looked at each other, then looked at the Baker and his wife and hushed away.

When the door was shut, Little Red let out a noisy sigh.

"What is it?",Jack asked.

Little Red made a waving gesture, "It doesn't matter what it is about _me._ But it _does_ matter what it is about the Baker's wife."

Jack frowned, "Are you always just worrying about other people?"

Little Red shrugged her shoulders, "I think so."

She leaned against the wall and buried her face in her lifted up knees.

"I'm worried about Anne.", she whispered, "I just...I'm wondering why she has those attacks."

Jack carefully knelt beside Little Red, "I'm too. But it's late and we should sleep."

Little Red nodded, "I know."

But she didn't move.

And later on, when Little Red had long fallen asleep, Jack carefully covered her and laid beside her under the blanket.

* * *

"John...", Anne started but went quiet when she saw her husband's look.

He didn't say anything for a while but then-

"How dare you?", he asked.

Anne reached out to take his hand but he backed away and sat on the edge of their bed.

"How dare you?", he repeated.

Anne cupped her face with her hands, "I don't know."

"How dare you to let me take care of you when you know what you've done. When you know what it would do to me.", John said quietly.

She'd never seen him that angry or that disappointed.

"I was knocked out.", Anne answered, "I couldn't tell you anything!"

John snorted and went silent.

Anne raised an eyebrow, "John, please. We have to talk about this."

Her husband snorted again, "We _have_ to do nothing!"

"We do."

"No, we don't."

"Yes, we do."

"Well you can't force me."

Anne's mouth fell open, "What?"

Slowly her eyes filled with tears, "Do I have to _force_ you to talk to me now? Is it such a suffering for you to talk to me after this?"

Her husband shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know. You hurt me, don't you know that?"

"I do. But what do you want me to do more than apologizing?", Anne asked.

There was no answer.

The Baker has buried his face in his hands and cried.

Anne leaned on her elbows and reached for her husband's shoulders.

He didn't even try to discourage her.

"John, I'm so sorry.", she whispered, "Terribly sorry."

She hugged him from behind and crossed her hands over his heart.

"I love you.", she said into his ear, "D'you hear me? I love you."

And with that she closed her eyes, still holding him close.

They sat like this for hours, didn't sleep and didn't even try to sleep.

The Baker cried until there were no tears left to weep and his wife held him until he didn't cry anymore and so it became morning and they heard their son whimpering for his mother's breast.

"Go.", John said, "He needs you."

Anne nodded, "I know."

She gave him a shy smile and stood up to take their son out of the cradle.

Carefully she laid him on the blankets and opened the buttons of her nightgown.

George'd never been a child who chewed on his mother's breasts or who drank too less or too much for the milk his mother had for him.

So Anne had never felt any pain when she nursed her son.

"How lucky you are.", Beth –the tailor's wife- had told her when she'd bought a loaf of bread one morning something about two weeks ago, "My Peter always drank too less."

And all the other women had said things like this too.

"How lucky I am.", Anne whispered to her son, "How lucky I am to have you."

* * *

"Are these your children?", an old woman asked and thankfully took the bread .

Cinderella shook her head, "No. They are orphans."

The woman tilted her head, "Do we know each other? Because I'm certain that I've seen you before."

Hurriedly Cinderella went to the oven and took the loaves out off the fire.

"I don't know but I don't think so.", she said and turned around again.

"How much does it costs?", the woman asked.

"Three pounds.", Cinderella answered and took the money, "Have a nice day."'

The woman waved and left the bakery.

It was a beautiful morning like a dreamy spring day would start.

The birds chirped and the children plaid in the grass.

It seemed to be the perfect morning for some sweets and a fresh loaf of bread so there were many customers this morning.

And almost everyone asked if Little Red and Jack were Cinderella's children and really everyone asked for the Baker's wife's well-being.

Cinderella had sold almost every loaf of bread when two little girls entered and watched out for the sweets.

They giggled and laughed while they handed Cinderella a gold piece.

They were just about to leave when one of the girls suddenly stopped and looked at Cinderella.

"Do I know you?", she asked and stumbled close.

She gasped and turned around to face the other girl, "It's the princess!"

"No way.", the girl answered, "Princesses are always with their princes."

Cinderella sighed.

"What a childish dream.", she mumbled.

"What?", one of the girls asked, "What did you say?"

Cinderella lifted her head, "It's a childish dream."

"Why?"

Cinderella buried her face in her hands for a few seconds, "You're children. You don't understand that."

She gave them a sad smile, "Please don't tell anyone that I am here."

She shooed the girls away, "Bakery's closed for today."

* * *

Little Red Riding Hood swallowed hard and opened the gate.

"Are you certain to do this?", Jack asked.

Little Red nodded, "Very certain."

She pushed the gate open and entered the garden.

A big tree had been crushed and fell on the way like a big barrier.

Everything seemed to be crashed. Even the little flowers at the edge of the path.

Little Red tried to suppress the tears, "I think...this stupid giant..."

Jack took her hand, "It had surely not been his intention to crash your house."

Little Red snorted, "Did you just say that? The one who wanted to slay the one who accidentally slated his mother?"

Jack frowned, "That's not..."

"It is.", Little Red argued, "You only lost your mother. I lost both, my mother _and_ my Granny."

"That's not fair!", Jack meant, "You can't compare this with that. These are two perfectly different things!"

Little Red sighed, "If you say so."

"I say so.", Jack answered.

He grabbed her wrist and pulled her backwards.

"I still don't know if this is such a good idea.", he mumbled, "I wouldn't visit my mother's house either."

Little Red shrugged, "Well I'm not you."

She entwined her hand from Jack's and stumbled forward, "If you don't wanna come, I'll go alone."

And she was gone, through the garden and jumped over the trunk.

Jack snorted, "Oh well..."

He followed Little Red Riding Hood and entered the small house shortly after she did.

"I wonder why the village where the Baker and his wife lives isn't crushed.", Little Red whispered and her voice echoed through the hallway.

The whole furniture laid crushed on the ground.

They entered the kitchen.

"Mother?", Little Red asked, "Mother? Are you here?"

She felt Jack's slight touch on her arm.

"Little Red...", he whispered and pointed in the edge of the room.

Little Red turned.

A dirty hand peeked out from the small couch.

Her eyes widened, "Oh no."

She wanted to near the place where her mother laid but Jack wouldn't let her.

"Let me go!", she shouted, almost screamed, "Let me GO!"

She cried and argued and shouted and kicked but Jack didn't loosen his grip.

Children certainly understand the adults' world but in another way than the adults understand their world.

They watch this far-away world from the outside through their whole childhood without a chance to enter. They learn to understand this strange world so they sometimes even understand the adults ' world better than the adults do.

While they watch this world they wish to live there.

But nothing could prepare them for the day in which they're going to enter the adults' world.

It's like a sudden push into the cold water. The coldest water they will ever know for their whole life.


	5. Adult's world

**Hello**

 **I'm still not sure if anyone out there reads or even likes my story...so a review would be great.**

 **There's no need for any long things, just a short "Good" or "Bad" or something like that would be great;)**

 **And if you want to write a long comment than write a long one.**

 **Tell me if you see any grammar mistakes or if you think that I could've used another word to describe...anything.**

 **Thanks;)**

 **C u**

 **Chapter FIVE**

 **Adults' world**

"I told her it was a bad idea!", Jack shouted and opened the gate to push Little Red inside the garden.

The Baker's wife looked down from the small window above him, "What happened?"

"We went to her mother's house to find her mother.", Jack said, "And...we found her."

The Baker's wife frowned, "Oh no. My husband is at the market place but surely you can find Cinderella. Otherwise I could help."

Jack grabbed Little Red's wrist even harder, "I don't know. Maybe...Oh I don't know."

The Baker's wife shrugged her shoulders, "Very well.", and disappeared from the window.

Jack pushed open the front door.

"Bakery's closed!", Cinderella shouted.

"It's me!", Jack said, "Come quick."

He tried to loosen Little Red Riding Hood's firm grip on his shoulders but she would only grab even harder.

She cried like no one had ever cried.

"What is it?", Cinderella said and came into the bakery room.

She hesitated as she saw Little Red sticking close to Jack, tears all over her face.

"Her mother is dead."

Little Red sobbed.

Quickly Cinderella wiped her hands on her apron and knelt down in front of Little Red.

The little girl slowly knelt down too, "I thought it would be better to say good bye."

Her voice was small, no more than a slight breeze hushing trough the room, "But it wasn't any good."

She sat there, bowed down so her braids fell over her shoulders and cried.

Cinderella cupped her cheeks with her flourish hands, "You have to let go of her. There's nothing as painful as holding onto a dead person. It kills you inside."

Little Red cried even harder.

Her forehead laid against Cinderella's shoulder and she crawled closer.

Cinderella held her close.

"I didn't know what to do.", Jack whispered, "She just...fell onto the floor and didn´t do anything but sob."

Cinderella shushed him with a small gesture.

She stroked Little Red's hair carefully.

"This world isn't fair.", the little girl whispered, "Everything is given to the rich who never did anything good. Nothing is given to the poor although they care so much more than the rich do. And if something is taken, it is never of the rich who have so much to give but it is taken of the ones who have nothing to spare."

Little Red sniffed, "The rich have everything, the poor have nothing and yet in the end even their nothingness is taken away."

Cinderella held her even closer, "The world's never been fair, so why should it be fair by all sudden?"

It wasn't a question.

It just was a simple fact, sad and unfair and irrevocable.

"Should I come down?", the Baker's wife's voice echoed through the house.

Cinderella looked at Little Red questioningly and –to Cinderella's and Jack's surprise- Little Red nodded.

"Yes.", Jack shouted, then he turned to Cinderella, "I think I won't be needed anymore? Because I wanted to run to the market to help the Baker."

The Baker's wife appeared on the doorstep, "Oh you should hurry up. He always forgets the half of what he has to buy."

And Jack ran off.

Little Red gave Cinderella a side look.

Then she stood up and stumbled forward to crush into the Baker's wife's arms where she began to cry so hard that it seemed as if the Baker's wife was just about to cry with her.

Cinderella frowned. She never knew that Little Red and the Baker's wife were so close.

And –feeling useless- Cinderella vanished into her chamber.

"Shhh.", Anne said and stroked the little girl's raven-black hair.

She sat down onto the chair and put Little Red on her lap.

"Everything's okay now.", she whispered, "You don't have to cry, little one."

Little Red buried her face on Anne's shoulder and held her close, "I wish...I wish my mother-"

"I know.", Anne said, "I know but there's nothing you could do for her now."

Little Red couldn't suppress the tears that fell down her cheeks, "I miss her."

Anne just stroked her head, "I know exactly how you feel. But it won't be any better if you always think of how it all could have ended."

Little Red frowned.

She sniffed several times and looked at the Baker's wife with a confused look, "How could you know how I feel?"

The Baker's wife almost laughed, "Well I was a girl like you are too. I know how growing up feels."

Little Red seemed as if she was just about to cry, "That strange feeling...this is growing up?"

Anne nodded, "I suppose it is. When you feel as if you want to separate from your family but want to pull them close in the same time, when you begin to leave the world of children and enter the scary, dangerous adult's world, when you begin to understand all the miseries and dangers, cruelties, standards and ties and vows... I know how it feels. When I married John, my husband, I first couldn't get to the idea of being separated to my family but just in the same time I felt that nothing was more important than being separated to them. And I was pushed into this whole new world full of new feelings and new experiences, new promises, new families, new rules...new bounds and...well things that a young woman like you shouldn't think of."

Little Red gave her a small smile, "I know much. But not all. I'm happy for it."

And she snuggled even closer to the Baker's wife so her lips where just at Anne's ear.

"I think you are a great mother.", she whispered, "And maybe you will become a great mother to me one day. I would prefer that rather than growing up without a mother."

And she didn't move again so there was just her slight breathtaking filling the silence in the room.

* * *

Just a few minutes later, John entered the bakery lounge followed by Jack.

"Are you okay, little one?"

Anne frowned.

He said _'little one'_ too?

Little Red nodded, "I suppose I am, now."

John and Anne shared a knowingly look.

Carefully Little Red stood up and smiled at Anne, "Thank you."

Then she disappeared and Jack followed her.

John went to steps forward until he could take his wife's hand, "You're supposed to stay in bed for a few days."

Anne gave him a slight smile, "I know. But she needed me."

She stood up and slowly approached the stairs.

"What is it?", John asked, reached out and laid a hand on her back to help her upstairs.

"Oh.", Anne said and it almost sounded like a slight laugh, "She's just growing up. I can remember this time as if it had been yesterday. I felt so very alone and useless."

John smiled, "I would feel like this if you weren't here. If you had died..."

He stopped, then grabbed his wife's hands and looked deeply in her eyes, "Aren't we lucky? There's so much suffering in this kingdom, just look at Little Red and Jack, but we – the two of us- are safe at home. And we even carried something out of this mess. Our wish was fulfilled while all the others lost what they most desired."

Anne stopped on the last step and turned around, "Don't think about those things. There're always people who suffer more than others. But that's how this world is."


	6. Mothers and Fathers

**Heeey:)**

 **I'm so sorry for letting you wait that long...But here is the next chapter and I hope you enjoy it and review;)**

 **C u**

 **IceK**

* * *

 **Chapter SIX**

 **Mothers and Fathers**

"Why are you smiling like that?", John asked and gave his wife an amused look.

She looked up from her book, that she had been holding for what felt like hours without turning over the book pages, "I just have to think of what Little Red said to me."

"What did she say?", her husband asked and crawled closer.

Anne gave him a sided look.

"She said she wants me to be a mother to her one day.", Anne smiled even wider, "I think a woman can never get a better compliment than that."

"Oh thank you!", John laughed.

He took his wife's hand and gave her a cheeky kiss on her knuckles.

His fingertips stroked over her palm, "Isn't 'I love you' a better compliment?"

Anne smiled, "It gets close."

John chuckled at that and pulled his wife's hands onto his lap.

They sat like this for a long time; She with the book in her lap and the glasses on the tip of her nose, staring through the thin glass onto the pages of her book, smiling, not only over the ridiculously romantic nonsense in the book, but over her husband stroking her hand and kissing her knuckles, trying to get her attention

She would let him wait, she said to herself and her smile deepened.

Only when the sun had set completely and the candle had burnt down almost completely with the was dripping all over the wooden desk's surface, Anne turned around and closed the book.

"Finally.", John said through a heavy breath and Anne laughed.

She snuggled closer to him and buried her cheek at his chest.

Slowly, he ran his fingers through her brown hair.

Some moments passed away until he raised his voice.

"Are you still having nightmares?"

Anne nodded, "Of course. But I seem to finally be able to control over that screaming."

It had meant to come out as a joke but her voice was all dry.

John frowned deeply, "Anne, please. If you have nightmares, wake me up. I do not want to sleep with the knowledge that you are suffering from a bad dream not getting any sleep at all."

His wife just roled her eyes, "I'm not 'suffering' from any bad dream, John. I'm fine."

But instead of answering, the Baker just pulled his wife closer to him and kissed her gently onto the red lips.

"I love you.", he whispered against her cheek.

"I love you too, dear. But we need to get at least a few hours of sleep before little Georgia over there is going to need to be nursed and the night is over."

With that she closed her eyes with her cheek still resting on her husband's chest.

* * *

"...And I've heard that the giantess turned out to be a dwarf in the end, isn't that a silly thing?", the voice of a teenage girl echoed through the bakery when a bunch of school kids entered, chatting and gossiping.

"Oh it is, indeed.", another girl added, "'Cause think about all the meaningless deaths."

"I'm fairly sure that the whole giant-thing was made up by the families of the victims. They just didn't want to be made fun of because their loved ones were killed by a one-feet-high dwarf."

The Baker looked up from his work and shut the teenagers a cold look.

"Stop making fun of such a serious thing.", he said.

One of the girls turned around rather quickly.

"And why" she started,", pray tell, should we hear to you?"

John felt the fury raising in him, "Because my wife almost died during that attack!"

The girls broke out into a laugh.

"Oh, Mr Baker.", one of them giggled, "You're such a funny guy."

John frowned, "There's nothing fun to it. I almost lost her to that giantess."

One of the girls stepped closer and bent over, a cheeky sparkle in her dark eyes.

"And how did that stupid giantess come into our beautiful kingdom?", she asked, her voice lowered to a whisper.

The Baker bent forward in just the same way that the girl did. His nose almost touched hers.

"Over a beanstalk."

The girl threw her head back and laughed out loud.

The Baker clenched his fists under his apron.

"Good morning!?", Anne's voice sounded from the stairs, "John? Where are you?"

The Baker visibly relaxed at the sound of her voice.

"Down here.", he shouted and turned around to watch his wife enter the bakery.

She looked like always; the brown hair in a perfect, neat bun on the back of her head, the dark-red dress covering her ankles and a blue apron over it.

"Mrs. Baker.", the girl in front of John greeted her with a smile, "You must know that your husband is such a funny guy. I really had a good laugh right now."

Anne frowned, "And about what did you laugh so much?"

She stepped in front of the oven and slowly pulled out the loaf of bread waiting in there.

It had become perfectly brown. As always.

"Oh.", one of the other girls said quickly, "About the giantess-attack."

Anne whirled around and stared at her husband.

"John!", she scolded him, "Why would you make fun of that?! You know how much Little Red and Jack are suffering from it!"

John left the table he had been working on behind and approached his wife.

"I know that. And I know hoe much you are suffering from it too, Anne."

Shivers ran down her spine at the memory of her fall and she grabbed her husband's arm to not break down.

"Why are you making fun of it then?", Anne said whilst the Baker steadied her and slowly led her to the small chair in the corner of the room.

When she had sat down, the girl's voice sounded again.

"Could we make our order now? We have to get back to school in time."

The Baker whirled around, the anger raising in him once again.

"Don't get so cheeky!", he burst out.

"John...", Anne started but the Baker didn't listen to hear.

He stepped behind the table, "You wish?"

The girl rolled her eyes, "Finally. We would like to have an apple pie."

John's eyes widened, "A whole apple pie?"

The girl nodded, "Of course, silly. Otherwise I would have said I wanted just some slices, right?"

"Don't get so cheeky.", Anne said, but it sounded much nicer and more gentle than it had when he'd said it.

The girl just laid some coins onto the table and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"You should tell your husband that he really must stop the lying.", she said when the Baker handed her the pie, carefully wrapped into a white cloth.

Anne frowned, "What lying?"

One of the girls took the pie from the girl's arms and put it into a basket.

"He told us that the giantess-dwarf came here over a beanstalk and that you got almost killed during the attack."

Another shiver ran down Anne's spine.

John shot her a quick glance.

"Probably the gaintess-dwarf pushed her against a tree and she hit her head pretty hard.", one of the girls giggled.

Anne tensed up in her chair.

"Or", another girl started, "it pushed her off a cliff and-"

They all whirled around when they heard a dump bang and all of their eyes widened when they saw the Baker's Wife laying on the ground.

She had fainted.

John quickly was at her side, "Anne? Annie, come on."

She didn't move or react in any way.

"Cinderella!", John shouted, "Cinderella, come quickly!"

There was another bang on the stairs and then Cinderella entered the bakery.

Some of the girls gasped.

"It's the princess!"

"Don't tell anyone!", Cinderella shot, "That's an order."

The girls curtsid before her but Cinderella didn't spare them another look.

She neared the Baker and his wife on the floor and got on her knees next to them, "She really isn't stable yet.", she said slowly, "She shouldn't work or walk around, I told her before but..."

"But she wouldn't listen.", the Baker finished, "She knows we need more hands than just two to bake so we can sell more. We are needy for money, but you can tell..."

One of the girls stepped closer, "From what is she suffering?"

The Baker turned around rather quickly, "From almost dying! And now leave the bakery! I've had enough of you when you firstly entered the room."


End file.
